The modern bed may be seen as having at least a mattress (e.g., as supported by some form a mattress support, one or more portions of the mattress being covered by one or more bed covers. The mattress could be seen as having a casing made from suitable fabric containing deformable or resilient material for sleeping. In one possible circumstance, the mattress support could be a bed frame that lifts the mattress up and away from the ground. In some other instances, the bed support could be a box spring, a fabric covered frame housing a set of vertical springs, as supported by the bed frame. The box spring in this case generally being inserted between the mattress and the bed frame.
The bed covers or bed cloths may include fitted rectangular sheets such as a mattress cover or pad, bed linens or sheets (e.g., fitted bottom sheet and non-fitted top sheets) placed over the top of the mattress cover. One or more blankets or quilts could be suitably placed over the bed sheets with a bed spread that may be placed over the blankets or quilts.
In applying such bed covers or bed cloths, a fitted mattress cover/pad may be applied first to the mattress. Another fitted bed sheet may then be applied over the fitted mattress cover. A non-fitted bed sheet may then be laid over the fitted bed sheet with a portion of the non-fitted bed sheet being tucked in (e.g., the operator could grasp the appropriate sheet edge and insert the sheet edge) under one end of the mattress (e.g., a foot end). In this manner, the sheet edge could be inserted in between a bottom of the mattress and a top of the mattress support. A blanket may then be laid over the non-fitted sheet and suitable be tucked under the mattress in a manner similar to the non-fitted sheets. Comforters, quilts, bed spreads or the like may then be suitably placed over the blanket but generally these additional bed covers are not tucked in.
The generally accepted epitome of bed making methods could be the method used in the military as well as many hotels, hospitals, using a technique known as the “hospital corner” bed making method. In the bed making method, the bed cloths or bed covers (e.g., mattress covers, sheets, blankets, etc. that are normally applied to mattress in a tucked-in manner) could be tucked in at the mattress' foot ends and sides with such resulting tension that one can literally bounce a coin (e.g., a quarter) off the top of the bed. The hospital corner bed making method basically imparts a gift wrapping fold to the bed cover at the each of foot corners of the mattress so that bed covers or bed cloths are tucked underneath both the bed's foot ends and sides. In this manner, the bed covers or bed cloths could be pulled taut over the top of the mattress with the head end of bed being the only untucked portion of the bed. When the bed is then used, the hospital corner bed making method generally provides a good means of anchoring the bed covers or bed cloths to the mattress as a person sleeps in the bed.
As the baby boomer population continues to move from middle age to old age, there may be increased need to address issues that generally accompany this large aging population. One such issue may be that a person's physically capacity during the aging process may decrease as that physically capacity relates to physical household tasks such a bed making or may be otherwise marked by a lacked of interest in making the bed (e.g., using of the hospital corner method.) As arthritis or the loss of muscular strength occurs during aging, it may become harder for the person to grasp an edge of a bed cover or bed cloth and then thrust the grasped edge in underneath a mattress (e.g. between the mattress and mattress support.) Further, the feet of the person using the bed could be uncomfortably held down by tautness of hospital corners and make it hard for such a person to swing their feet out of bed.
Another issue may be medical in nature for as the person ages, that person may become more susceptible to physical disabilities, such as foot afflictions, which may arising from diabetes, gout or other infirmities. These foot afflictions may come in the form of extreme pressure/pain sensitivity. For example, gout in particular may diagnosed during a flare-up by having a pressure sensitivity caused by inflammation of the thalamus or big toe joint. Even the light presence of a single bed sheet upon that foot area may induce a very, very painful response for gout sufferers. Such tactile sensitivity as found in gout may also occur with diabetes patients. In such circumstances, sleeping in a bed made by hospital corners method with a resulting bed cover tautness may make it very difficult if not painful for such people to sleep in such bed.
What is needed therefore could be the present invention, generally comprising a bed cover or bed cloth and a means of using same that makes bed making easier and faster for an ageing population; provides a suitable means to anchor the bed covers or bed cloths in a self-centering manner and further relieves the movement restriction as imposed by the hospital corner tautness. Such a bed cloth or cover could be a base sheet combined with a smaller tab sheet to generally form a T-shape. The base sheet could be substantially rectangular in nature, having two sides connecting a top (head) edge with a bottom (foot) edge. A tab sheet could further extend from the bottom edge, the tab sheet not being as wide or as long as the top sheet. The tab sheet could further define an open-ended pocket that has an aperture that opens out onto the remaining tab sheet and could further allow passage of at least a portion of an operator's hand into the open-ended pocket. In this manner, after the invention has been laid over the mattress (or over other bed covers previously applied to the mattress), the operator could place at least a portion of one hand into the open-ended pocket to guide at least the open-ended pocket and hand combination towards and underneath the mattress (e.g., be inserted between a mattress and a mattress support) without having to grasp the bed cover/bed cloth to do so. Other bed cloths or covers used in making the bed could be suitable constructed and applied in a similar manner to the mattress to further complete the making of the bed.
The corners of the bottom edge generally are not inserted underneath the mattress and allow the base sheet to lay loose upon the mattress top and sides to substantially eliminate the application of hospital corners for the foot corners of applied bed cover. In substantially letting the foot end corners of the bed cloths/bed covers lay down in a loose manner, a foot end of the bed could be relieved of a downward pressure (as otherwise provided by the tautness of hospital corners) that could be painful to those persons having medical foot conditions. The invention could further make it easier for older persons to swing their feet out of the bed, while still having a means that held keep the bed cloths/bed covers in place upon the made bed.